Finding the News
A Grandpa story
The latest report on the news consumption habits of young adults reveals that only 15 percent of those aged 18-29 follow the news closely, as opposed to 62 percent of those aged 65 and above.
Young people also tend to be less likely than older adults to get news about government and politics, science and technology, and business and finance.
But they are more than twice as likely as older Americans to follow entertainment news. (Both groups are roughly the same when it comes to sports news.)
As for political news specifically, younger adults say they often just happen to run across it on social media or from influencers, while older people seek it out by deliberately tuning in trusted news channels.
So the generations have completely different habits, I get that. But maybe we’re not all that different in how we feel about the news on those occasions when our consumption habits overlap.
Yesterday, when my 14-year-old granddaughter and I both encountered this story — “Sabrina Carpenter to White House: Don’t use my music to tout ‘inhumane’ agenda” — we were in complete agreement that Sabrina Carpenter rocks.
When we talked about the issue involved — exploitation of an artist’s work by a politician without her permission — we agreed on that too.
I’ve noticed for a while that though my 20-something children and my teenaged grandchildren don’t tune into the news the way I do, they usually seem well-informed anyway.
That’s one of the reasons journalists need to continue to do the hard work of digging out the truth and getting it published — because your youngest news consumers will find it once its out there in the universe.
To read the entire report from the Pew Research Center, follow this link: Young Adults and the Future of News.
HEADLINES:
Suspect arrested in January 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case (NBC)
Pete Hegseth faces deepening scrutiny from Congress over boat strikes (AP)
U.S. Military’s Boat Strikes Planning Takes On New Significance (NYT)
Exclusive: Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say (CNN)
Hegseth risked a U.S. bombing mission in Yemen in March, new report says (NPR)
Lawmakers demand answers about Pete Hegseth’s boat-bombing campaign (Economist)
How Palantir shifted course to play key role in ICE deportations (WP)
Now Trump Is Threatening Naturalized Americans (The Bulwark)
Trump Calls Somalis ‘Garbage’ He Doesn’t Want in the Country (NYT)
Condemning Millions for One Man’s Crime (Atlantic)
US cancels citizenship ceremonies for migrants from travel ban countries (BBC)
A GOP Win Foretells Midterm Trouble (WSJ)
House Democrats release new images of Epstein’s private Caribbean island (Guardian)
What latest Ukraine talks reveal about Putin’s state of mind (BBC)
Sabrina Carpenter to White House: Don’t use my music to tout ‘inhumane’ agenda (WP)
Marine robotics firm will resume deep-sea search for MH370 plane that vanished a decade ago (AP)
Young Adults and the Future of News (Pew)
OpenAI has trained its LLM to confess to bad behavior (Technology Review)
Trump Appears To Doze During Stroke (Onion)
I love the way you pay attention to the ways that young people are using information, not assuming you know without data (as too many older folks do). My two daughters, both in their 30s now, are very well informed but don't consume news the same way I do. That's OK, as long as young people understand what's happening in the world around them. "Our" way is not the only way.